New Japanese Trailers for DLC 1 Emblems and Somniel (Home Base)

[Fabulously Olivier]

I mean, if this is built on the Warriors engine (unconfirmed), any character in those game has HD assets that could make them fair game for a craftable/gacha ring.

[EdeaCreamer]

So like, is this just using in-game resources?  Because that's fine; it looks like it just costs SP that you're earning from actions in-game (like winning battles) to unlock pieces of character art/minor boosts to your Emblem Rings.

What would raise my hackles is there being a system in place to purchase unlimited additional SP packages for real-world currency.

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by EdeaCreamer

[Ayra]

1 hour ago, EdeaCreamer said:

So like, is this just using in-game resources?  Because that's fine; it looks like it just costs SP that you're earning from actions in-game (like winning battles) to unlock pieces of character art/minor boosts to your Emblem Rings.

What would raise my hackles is there being a system in place to purchase unlimited additional SP packages for real-world currency.

I'd be extremely surprised if that's the case. In the Switch era, Nintendo's DLC policy seems to generally be "Season pass is the only purchasable DLC". Xenoblade Chronicles 2, 3 and Three Houses all used that system with content spread over a year of the game's release. Engage's format is identical, so I'd be shocked if there's more purchasable DLC besides the season pass.

Anyway, I can't say I was ever expecting to play a Star Fox-like shooter inside of a Fire Emblem game... It's unexpected to say the least... Not really sure how I feel about all that! I don't mind them per say and it's kind of cute, but I also hope that the game is fully playable without having to dabble too long in all that stuff for when I want to do battle-focused playthrough. However, considering I have like 200 hours of Ring Fit, I'd be totally up with Ring Con integration for all those exercise minigames!

[Etrurian emperor]

Swimsuits time! 

I wonder if the home base is some sort of dream world since you can see the bed toothpaste chan originally woke up in.

[egobarrier]

25 minutes ago, Ayra said:

I'd be extremely surprised if that's the case. In the Switch era, Nintendo's DLC policy seems to generally be "Season pass is the only purchasable DLC". Xenoblade Chronicles 2, 3 and Three Houses all used that system with content spread over a year of the game's release. Engage's format is identical, so I'd be shocked if there's more purchasable DLC besides the season pass.

I agree, although I do think the expansion pass including a repeatable trial map designed for SP grinding is a distinct possibility.

[Lynsanity]

This is by far the most off-the-wall trailer this game has gotten so far. Swimming with shoes on? The petting zoo? That dog thing? The dragon rail shooter?? Imaginary conversations in bed???

It's like they're pushing how non-seriously a FE game can take itself. I'm all here for it, but I expect this will rub some fans the wrong way. Also I'm reminded of Revolutionary Girl Utena for some reason. I think they're really leaning into some more shoujo influences.

[Azz]

So I was watching the DLC trailer again and noticed something which I do believe was noted before:

Spoiler

This is the scene of Jade engaging with Tiki however if you look at Alear you will notice he has an Engage meter but no Emblem of note. I believe I did see people suggest that is IS directly trying to hide something before the game comes out however, I think at this point they don't really care to hide any new Emblems and they have pretty much shown off every major character they could at this point I believe.

Instead I believe this to be Alear transformation gauge. We know Alear fought 1000 years ago and is technically a hero in their own regard. We also have seen that being a dragon provides them with many boons while engaging. What if Alear themself can use the power of engaging to transform into their divine dragon form? Considering their promo class is called Divine Dragon, it would make sense for them to be able to transform and it would certainly be a neat way to have transformation in the game and not have it be too OP (well, as not too OP as Emblems have been thus far).

[tipperthescales]

1 hour ago, Azz said:

Instead I believe this to be Alear transformation gauge. We know Alear fought 1000 years ago and is technically a hero in their own regard. We also have seen that being a dragon provides them with many boons while engaging. What if Alear themself can use the power of engaging to transform into their divine dragon form? Considering their promo class is called Divine Dragon, it would make sense for them to be able to transform and it would certainly be a neat way to have transformation in the game and not have it be too OP (well, as not too OP as Emblems have been thus far).

There was also that rather suspicious gap between Byleth and Tiki in the rings/bracelets menu that I know some people were saying wasn't just a means to organically separate the two.

Given how frequently we are seeing Alear have meter but no Emblems (this is the 3rd or 4th time now), Tiki's Engage mechanic, and Alear's promoted outfit gaining his mother's tiara and the shoulder-like feather down that is prevalent in Lumera's dragon form - I'm also very much thinking that they have a particular ring locked to themselves to be able to transform like Tiki (which almost makes it some sort of hybrid between laguz meter and Mystery manakete transformations I guess?). Good catch.

[Sentinel07]

4 hours ago, Lynsanity said:

This is by far the most off-the-wall trailer this game has gotten so far. Swimming with shoes on? The petting zoo? That dog thing? The dragon rail shooter?? Imaginary conversations in bed???

It's like they're pushing how non-seriously a FE game can take itself. I'm all here for it, but I expect this will rub some fans the wrong way. Also I'm reminded of Revolutionary Girl Utena for some reason. I think they're really leaning into some more shoujo influences.

Honestly, the more I've thought about it, the more I came to that exact conclusion about why the game is not resonating with me.

Everything about it, from the aesthetic and art style to the transformations to the shojo stuff...this game feels like something out of a magical girl anime.

[Emobot7]

I just want to point out something because I've seen a lot of people wandering if this home base is some kind of magic safe haven or some sort of dream world. Well, to me at least, it look like a floating island. Since we already know Alear slept at one of Lythos’s floating isles for 1000 years, we can guess that the home base is propably the same island Alear was sleeping at.

And hopefully, said island can propably physically follow Alear group as they travel around Elyos. So maybe its their base and their means of transport at the same time. Which mean it wouldn't be some kind of magical safe haven and would even be useful as a plot device.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Emobot7

[Armchair General]

12 minutes ago, Emobot7 said:

Which mean it wouldn't be some kind of magical safe haven and would even be useful as a plot device

Too bad that it's too small for it to have an conventional battlefield on it.

[Emobot7]

4 minutes ago, Armchair General said:

Too bad that it's too small for it to have an conventional battlefield on it.

Honestly, I would like it if the base was attacked in a later chapter and you had to defend it but it does seem kind of small for that. 

[Mysterique Sign]

Somniel is the island floating above Lythos that Alear was sleeping on

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

 

[B.Leu]

Ah yes, Gacha, truly what I expect from a tactical RPG.

And gosh dang it to heck, I can't wait to rub Tiki... 's ring. (Because of course we needed her again)

[Keikyushi]

Thank you for the translation as always, Satsuma!

[Fabulously Olivier]

I'm not opposed to dating/life sim mechanics. I mean, how could I be as a Trails and Persona fan?

 

No, the ring rubbing is nowhere near as bad as the Fates touching minigame. But that doesn't mean it's good. It makes the game worse than it could have been (or at least worsens the reputation of the franchise), and it very much is awkward and somewhat uncomfortable. A PG-rated massage is still a massage.

[Crubat]

It's all optional so I don't think there's any use to complaining about something you're not forced to do, especially since the game seems to be good on the tactical side of the gameplay (I know emblems are broken but we'll have to see). I, for one, will be enjoying all these minigames between each chapter, I would honestly just walk around and stare at what all the characters are doin' and just admire the place. It sounds corny but it's genuinely enjoyable for me lol

[Crubat]

6 hours ago, SatsumaFSoysoy said:

 

thank you btw @SatsumaFSoysoy!
So it seems like S rank bond rings give you a small effect? Aka S rank Caeda ring gives you a skill that reduces damage by 5 during enemy phase when you have >50% HP

[Fabulously Olivier]

10 minutes ago, Crubat said:

It's all optional so I don't think there's any use to complaining about something you're not forced to do, especially since the game seems to be good on the tactical side of the gameplay (I know emblems are broken but we'll have to see). I, for one, will be enjoying all these minigames between each chapter, I would honestly just walk around and stare at what all the characters are doin' and just admire the place. It sounds corny but it's genuinely enjoyable for me lol

Sure. But if we wanted these things to be actually optional, players should have the options to get the rewards without the activities. Three Houses would be a much better-paced game if Rest and Seminar were equally viable to Monastery and Auxiliary Battles, after all.

[Aggro Incarnate]

So a thought just hit me. The Somniel trailer says that characters can improve their relationship with Emblems through the ring polishing minigame.

Does this actually mean it will increase Bond Lv EXP between the character and the emblem...?
Higher Bond Lv unlocks more engage weapons, skills and higher stat bonuses from emblem rings, so I wonder how impactful this would be. With Sync skills being quite impactful, I think I can see being more impactful than Private Quarters in Fates.

[Azz]

I do think that most of the superfluous Somniel mechanics seem quite optional and unneeded to beat the game. Like the exercising, fishing, eating etc. seems pretty much like 'it's here I guess if you wanna mess around' which is a nice change from Three Houses where so much of the Monastery activities were required for character growth and such.

I think the only one that seems like it will give a noticeable boost is the Emblem stuff, but even then I think it will mainly be the case if you want to min-max as much as posisble. For example, if you want a character to have a high bond level with as many Emblems as possible, then I do think the cleaning thing will be a must, but if one character is using one Emblem for the majority of the game, I doubt it will be. The skills part will probably be pretty important and seems like the only way to actually get new skills for units thus far. As for the boosted stats, probably on the hardest difficulty it will be handy, but I doubt if will make that much of a difference.

Overall, I think Somniel has a lot to offer, most of which will be mostly optional unless you're really going for min-max stuff with units.

[Crubat]

44 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Sure. But if we wanted these things to be actually optional, players should have the options to get the rewards without the activities. Three Houses would be a much better-paced game if Rest and Seminar were equally viable to Monastery and Auxiliary Battles, after all.

The only notable rewards you get is the cooking one which is +1-2 to 3 stats. Fates had a similar thing where you can get stat boosts if you did it but I've had runs where I never used it and it was fine. You can beat the game without doing any of these I'm like 99% sure. 

[Emobot7]

Yes, thank you Satsuma for the translation.

Otherwise, I agree with Crubat and Azz, whole reason why Three Houses was so long was that you had to constantly boost motivation of students to improve their skill levels. This was because Three Houses was centered around the teacher dynamic. We haven't seen anything implying that we will have to manage our team skills to improve them in Engage so I would be surprised if the game incentivized us to roam around Somniel for that.

Going around the home base will propably be give some nice bonus but considering the power fantasy directions Fire Emblem games seem to be taking recently (at least on normal difficulty), I really doubt those bonus would be necessary to progress in the game. If anything, I expect the more hardcore fans who enjoy playing on harder difficulties might want to skip out on those bonus to give them an even better challenge. 

[KoriCongo]

Definitely starting to believe in the Alear Transformation Meter theory. Would explain why we haven't seen a dragonstone yet. Only qualms I have in the theory is the mysterious space they use in the menu (that looks really bad...) and that it kind of undermines the Dragon-Style Ring Bonus, if Alear's Divine Dragon class have its own Dragon Engage.

5 hours ago, Emobot7 said:

Yes, thank you Satsuma for the translation.

Otherwise, I agree with Crubat and Azz, whole reason why Three Houses was so long was that you had to constantly boost motivation of students to improve their skill levels. This was because Three Houses was centered around the teacher dynamic. We haven't seen anything implying that we will have to manage our team skills to improve them in Engage so I would be surprised if the game incentivized us to roam around Somniel for that.

Going around the home base will propably be give some nice bonus but considering the power fantasy directions Fire Emblem games seem to be taking recently (at least on normal difficulty), I really doubt those bonus would be necessary to progress in the game. If anything, I expect the more hardcore fans who enjoy playing on harder difficulties might want to skip out on those bonus to give them an even better challenge. 

You really could cut down a lot of time by just using the Cafeteria over and over again, making sure you hit the Greenhouse to restock on ingredients. Those were the only 2 important places you had to visit every weekend to make sure your students were ready for training, especially on NG+ where you don't have to grind back up your Professor Levels. I think a lot of people just didn't know how to fast track their playthroughs and just kept doing everything, regardless of effectiveness, which led to the time complaints.

Still, yeah, appreciate the more compact but lively structure of Somniel. Even if every system was important for your survival (a lot of players really downplay how essential cooking buffs and tonics were to success Conquest playthroughs...), being able to access them quicker and easier is a massive stepup.